This weekend was a big one! On Saturday, we celebrated Patrick’s first birthday. (as well as our first Nursiversary!) Living in California means we were still able to have his party outside at a local park that is AWESOME so the kids could enjoy the sunshine and the the trees, despite the patchy clouds and chill in the air. I mean it IS December and all.

Sunday was also a very special. Since I was young, my grandmother has always taken us girls (I have two younger sisters) to see The Nutcracker in San Francisco. This year, my own daughter started Kindergarten- (the longstanding old-enough-to-sit-through-a-ballet age) and I spent weeks adding details to and upcycling a used dress we found at Goodwill, picking out ribbons and sparkles, reading The Nutcracker story & listening to Tchaikovsky. It was SUCH a special, forever-to-be-treasured memory to sit, the four of us together and watch (Annika love) the ballet. As an added bonus, it was BEAUTIFUL this year. The costumes and the choreography really brought back to life some changes that I was really disappointed with after the ballet in SF changed ownership a few years ago. It was also the fist time we’ve gone to the ballet since me dad’s passing 2 years ago- it was nice to do something for the holidays that remind me of the season and not just how painful it is to wish he were here, being a part of it.